Editorial: Short-term rental issue at beach requires much study

From Staff

Published Sunday, April 08, 2007

St. Augustine Beach finds itself in a tug of war over vacation rentals in some residential neighborhoods.

At issue is:

Should people who own residential units -- duplexes, triplexes and single-family homes -- in city-designated medium-density areas be allowed to rent them for as short a time as they want, whenever they want?

At the heart of the debate are the residents and the rental property owners.

Year-round residents in those neighborhoods say they want to be able to enjoy their beach lifestyle without the noise and traffic from short-term renters. The residents define short-term renters as people who come for a few days or a week.

Rental property owners say they bought their property for investment purposes and that offering short-term rentals is a way for them to get a good return on their investment. They say their clients respect the residential nature of the community.

St. Augustine Beach already has a ban on short-term rentals of less than 30 days in low density, single-family neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods are not affected by the present debate. Also not affected by this debate are condominiums with eight units or more.

Last week, the City Commission decided to draft an ordinance that would limit short-term rentals in the medium-density neighborhoods. The commission said it does not intend to stop short-term rentals but rather to regulate them. A proposed ordinance would require an occupational license for a property owner to rent a unit more than three times in a calendar year for periods of less than 30 days at a time. There are no restrictions at present on length of rentals in the medium density neighborhoods.

The proposed ordinance will go before the Beach Planning and Zoning Board on April 17 and then to the City Commission on May 7. Public hearings are required on any land use change so this will be on the city agenda through part of the summer. It is important that the community at large help solve this dilemma.

Short-term rentals in residential neighborhoods are not new. Cities and counties throughout Florida are and have been wrestling with the issue. Some have gone to court and won, others have lost.

Most communities have restrictions on where and when short-term rentals are allowed in residential areas.

The St. Augustine Beach City Commission and the Planning and Zoning Board must avail themselves of all research and resources before taking any action, one way or the other.